- 1 - HC-KAR NC: 2025:KHC-K:4169 CRL.A No. 200199 of 2024 IN THE HIGH COURT OF KARNATAKA, KALABURAGI BENCH DATED THIS THE 23RD DAY OF JULY, 2025 BEFORE THE HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE S RACHAIAH CRIMINAL APPEAL NO. 200199 OF 2024 (374(Cr.PC)/415(BNSS)) BETWEEN MAIHIPAL REDDY S/O BASAVAREDDY @ BASAVARAJ REDDY BENEKEPALLI AGED 20 YEARS, OCC. TRACTOR DRIVER R/OF CHINTAKUNTA VILLAGE TALUKA KALAGI, DIST KALABURAGI – 585 312 ...APPELLANT (BY SRI.SANTOSH PATIL, ADVOCATE) AND 1 . THE STATE OF KARNATAKA AND ANR THROUGH RATKAL POLICE STATION TALUKA KALAGI, DISTRICT KALABURAGI REP. BY ADDL. SPP HIGH COURT OF KARNATAKA KALABURAGI BENCH 2 . DEVAPPA S/O MAPANNA BULLA AGE. 42 YEARS, OCC. LABOURER R/ OF CHINTKUNTA VILLAGE TALUKA KALAGI, DIST KALABURAGI – 585 312 …RESPONDENTS (BY SRI JAMADAR SHAHABUDDIN, HCGP FOR R1; R2 SERVED) THIS CRIMINAL APPEAL IS FILED UNDER SECTION 374 (2) OF CR.P.C PRAYING TO ALLOW THIS APPEAL AND SET ASIDE THE IMPUGNED JUDGMENT AND ORDER OF CONVICTION DATED 02.03.2023 AND SENTENCE DATED Digitally signed by SREEDHARAN BANGALORE SUSHMA LAKSHMI Location: High Court of Karnataka - 2 - HC-KAR NC: 2025:KHC-K:4169 CRL.A No. 200199 of 2024 07.03.2023 PASSED IN SPECIAL CASE POCSO NO. 61/2020 BY THE COURT OF ADDL. DISTRICT AND SESSIONS JUDGE AND FTSC-I (POCSO) AT KALABURAGI FOR THE OFFENCES PUNISHABLE UNDER SECTION 305 AND 506 OF IPC AND UNDER SECTION 12 OF POCSO ACT 2012, CONSEQUENTLY BE PLEASED TO ACQUIT THE ACCUSED / APPELLANT HEREIN IN THE INTEREST OF JUSTICE AND EQUITY. THIS APPEAL HAVING BEEN HEARD AND RESERVED FOR JUDGMENT ON 04.04.2025 AT KALABURAGI BENCH, COMING ON FOR ‘PRONOUNCEMENT OF JUDGMENT’, BEFORE THE PRINCIPAL BENCH AT BENGALURU, THROUGH VIDEO CONFERENCING, THIS DAY, THE COURT DELIVERED THE FOLLOWING: CORAM: HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE S RACHAIAH CAV JUDGMENT (PER: HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE S RACHAIAH) 1. This appeal is filed by the appellant, being aggrieved judgment of conviction dated 02.03.2023 and order on sentence dated 07.03.2023 passed in Special Case (POCSO) No.61/2020 on the file of Additional District and Sessions Judge and FTSC-I (POCSO) at Kalaburagi. 2. The ranks of the parties henceforth will be considered as per their rankings before the Trial Court, for convenience. - 3 - HC-KAR NC: 2025:KHC-K:4169 CRL.A No. 200199 of 2024 Factual matrix of the case: 3. The case of the prosecution is that, on 16.04.2020, the complainant who is the father of the victim, lodged a complaint stating that the deceased was a minor child studied upto 10th standard. Thereafter, she discontinued her studies for the last one year. The accused used to follow the deceased whenever she was going to land and used to ask her to marry him and also called her over the phone and teased her. As soon as the complainant learnt that the accused was teasing his daughter, he went to the house of the accused and informed the said fact to the mother of the accused and requested her to advise the accused properly. However, the accused had continued his inducement and teasing and also told her that she belongs to Holeya caste and nobody can protect her and the accused can do anything to her and also gave a life threat to the deceased. Therefore, a complaint came be registered by the complainant. Based on the complaint, the respondent - police have registered a case in Crime - 4 - HC-KAR NC: 2025:KHC-K:4169 CRL.A No. 200199 of 2024 No.18/ 2020. After registering the case, conducted investigation and submitted the charge sheet. 4. To prove the case of the prosecution, the prosecution in all examined 27 witnesses at P.W.1 to P.W.27 and got marked 36 documents as Exs.P1 to P36 and also got identified seven material objects as M.O.1 to M.O.7. The Trial Court convicted the accused for the offences punishable under Sections 504 r/w 509, 506, 305 of the Indian Penal Code (for short ‘IPC’) and Section 12 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012 (for short ‘POCSO Act’) and under Sections 3(1)(s), 3(1)(r), 3(2)(v) of the Scheduled C astes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989. 5. Heard Sri.Santosh Patil, learned counsel for the appellant and Sri.Jamadar Shahabuddin, learned High Court Government Pleader for respondent No.1 – State. Respondent No.2 is served and unrepresented. - 5 - HC-KAR NC: 2025:KHC-K:4169 CRL.A No. 200199 of 2024 6. It is the submission of learned counsel for the appellant that the judgment of conviction and order on sentence passed by the learned Sessions Jude convicting and sentencing the appellant is opposed to the law and facts and also the circumstances of the case. Hence, the same is liable to be set aside. 7. It is further submitted that though P.W.1 supported the case of prosecution, there are some contradictions and omissions in his evidence. According to P.W.1, the accused used to give a call over the mobile and also threatening her with dire consequences. However, the prosecution did not secure the call details to indicate as to whether the accused was talking with the victim over the phone. Further, P.W.1 admitted that the accused was not a resident of his village and the accused was staying in a different village. It is further admitted that the incident had taken place on 15.04.2020. However, the complaint came to be registered on 16.04.2020. - 6 - HC-KAR NC: 2025:KHC-K:4169 CRL.A No. 200199 of 2024 8. It is further submitted that though the prosecution has invoked Section 305 of IPC, the ingredients of the said provision cannot be attracted for the reason that the prosecution has failed to produce the birth certificate of the deceased to indicate that she was a minor as on the date of the alleged incident. Therefore, the judgment of the conviction has to be set aside. Making such submissions, learned counsel for the appellant prays to allow the appeal. 9. Per Contra, learned High Court Government Pleader for respondent No.1 - State vehemently submitted that the evidence of P.W.1 and P.W.3 are consistent that the accused used to harass her on one or the other pretext and also used to insist her to love him. As she failed to co-operate with him, he abused her in filthy language and also threatened her with dire consequences. Therefore, the findings of the Trial Court in recording the acquittal is appropriate and proper. Further, he submitted that there is no reason to interfere with the - 7 - HC-KAR NC: 2025:KHC-K:4169 CRL.A No. 200199 of 2024 said findings. Making such submissions, learned High Court Government Pleader prays to dismiss the appeal. 10. Having heard the learned counsel for the respective parties and also perused the findings of the Trial Court in recording the conviction, it is appropriate at this stage to refer the evidence of all the witnesses for the purpose of an elaborate discussion. 11. P.W.1 is the father of the victim. According to him, the accused used to force his daughter to love him and also he was insisting her to marry him. When she refused, the accused abused her in a filthy language by referring her caste and also threatened her that nobody can do anything as he belongs to the upper community. 12. The entire allegation made against the accused is on the basis of telephone conversation between his daughter and the accused. In the cross-examination, he admitted that he was not aware as to which telephone number the accused was calling his daughter - 8 - HC-KAR NC: 2025:KHC-K:4169 CRL.A No. 200199 of 2024 and which telephone number she used to receive the threatening calls. 13. Similarly, P.W.2 also stated that she was not aware as to why her sister had committed suicide. 14. P.W.3 - mother of the deceased, has stated that she had received information from the deceased that the accused was forcing her to love him and also to marry him. 15. P.W.24 is stated to be the witness to the seizure mahazar as per Ex.P26. According to him, the accused had produced the mobile in his presence. The police have conducted a seizure panchanama and seized the mobile. 16. Similarly, P.W.25 supported the case of prosecution in respect of the seizure of mobile phone of the accused. 17. P.W.26 was working as an Alternative Nodal Officer, Reliance Jio at Bengaluru. He issued a certificate under Section 65(B) of the Indian Evidence Act. According to - 9 - HC-KAR NC: 2025:KHC-K:4169 CRL.A No. 200199 of 2024 him, there were two mobile phones contained numbers 7483422124 and 9380491939. These two phones have been seized by the police to establish that the accused was talking with the victim. Even assuming that the accused was talking with the victim on several occasions, that itself is not sufficient to say that because of the reason the victim had committed suicide. When the proper evidence is not adduced and the prosecution has failed to prove the case beyond a reasonable doubt that the victim had committed suicide by the threat given by the accused. 18. Even though several documents have been seized and mobile phones were also seized to substantiate the conversations stated to be held between the accused and the victim, the fact remains that, the said conversation has not been reduced into writing. Such being the fact, it cannot be held that there is a nexus between the abetment of the accused and also suicide of the victim. Therefore, in my considered view, the judgment of conviction passed by the Trial Court has to - 10 - HC-KAR NC: 2025:KHC-K:4169 CRL.A No. 200199 of 2024 be set aside as the prosecution failed to prove the ingredients of the offences not only by the oral evidence but also by documentary evidence. 19. In the light of the observation made above, I proceed to pass the following: ORDER i) The criminal appeal is allowed. ii) The judgment of conviction dated 02.03.2023 and order on sentence dated 07.03.2023 passed in Special Case (POCSO) No.61/2020 by the Additional District and Sessions Judge and FTSC-I (POCSO) at Kalaburagi, is set aside. iii) The accused is acquitted for the offences punishable under Sections 504 r/w 509, 506, 305 of IPC and Section 12 of the POCSO Act. iv) Bail bonds executed if any, stands cancelled. Sd/- (S RACHAIAH) JUDGE UN/List No.: 19 Sl No.: 1